Winds Of Change
by TheFABFive2015
Summary: TAG 2015. Following on from the Touch And Go episode, and my story The Enemy Within. With the GDF compromised, and Kayo challenging his authority, Scott has to wonder who he can trust.


Ooooh! After Kickass!Scott in Chain Of Command, now we get Kickass!Kayo. And hasn't that episode set up a humdinger of a finale?! Will Kayo be turned to the dark side? Will her conflict with Scott escalate into something that they'll both come to regret?

We'll have to wait until those last two episodes to find out, of course, or maybe even the next season, but... well, for now, here's Scott's thoughts as he reflects on Kayo's actions. With so much for him to think about - yes, no wonder he can't sleep!

Enjoy!

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Winds Of Change

In one of eight, dimly lit bedrooms, a heap of bedclothes tossed and turned. Kicked into defeat at one end, a tousled head finally surfaced from the other, just far enough for two bleary eyes to glare at the cruelly mocking time.

04:17.

 _Damn it_!

To another groan of frustration, Scott fell back into the tumble of covers around him. Not just in the physical sense... God, he was getting tired of this. And wasn't it just so appropriate, that every one of those glowing digits should so perfectly suit his mood? What his brothers would dryly call Run For Cover Red. Not even that heart to heart with Virgil, or that midnight work-out afterwards, had come close to dispelling it.

Whacking his pillow with maybe a bit more force than necessary, Scott rolled onto his other side, and glared instead at the opposing wall.

Sleepless night number three, and... yeah, this was becoming too much of a habit. Compared to this latest round of _'why-the-hell-can't-I-sleep_?', raising four little brothers had been a damn cakewalk, and... aww, _damn it_!

Yes, thinking about those four little brothers had now left him more wired and worried than ever. Tossed onto his back again, and finding fresh cracks in his ceiling.

They weren't actually there, of course. He knew they were just figments of an imagination that was still running too riot on him to let him rein it in. All tricks on a mind that was still too full of 'what if's' and 'might-have-beens' to let him even think about sleep.

Yes, he could count every sheep on the planet, and he'd still be lying here. Still asking himself the same, damn questions.

How badly had the GDF been compromised?

How long had The Hood been left, undetected, to do God knew what damage inside it?

In the now questionable ranks of his greatest ally, who the hell could he trust?

Colonel Casey, of course, and her command team. He'd trust his life to her in a heartbeat, right along with the rest of his family's, but... God, could he even be sure of _that_? Had there been times in the past when he'd laughed and joked with his godmother, blissfully oblivious of the scheming evil who'd taken her place?

There was no danger of that now, of course. Brains and Virgil had seen to that. The joint efforts of two techical geniuses had ensured that such a disastrous breach of its security could never happen again. But even with those scanners now in place... no, those niggling _'what if's_?' just refused to go away.

What if the damage had already been done? Lurking, unseen, until it was set to strike? What if their strongest ally had been turned to the whim of their greatest enemy?

Compelled by the quirks of exhausted human nature, Scott glanced back at his bedside clock. 04:20. Three more minutes of helpless fretting. Matched, no doubt, by the same number of fresh grey hairs.

Yes, along with those famous dimples, he'd undoubtedly inherited one of the less appealing family traits, and... damn it, he wasn't even thirty yet!

More thoughts for him to mull over, as a rueful smile sneaked out to join them. If their father was the all charming Silver Fox, then his eldest son was destined to be his equally charming cub, and... God, had he _really_ flirted with that Captain Carter, while they'd both truly hung on for their lives?

Yup. Proof, if it were ever needed, that Scott 'The Flirting Flyboy' Tracy was certifiably insane. _And_ the leader of the best rescue team in the world. Oh. yeah - now wasn't _that_ a thought to keep you up all night?

Uh huh. Right up there, with all the others. And was this _really_ the time for him to wonder if _she_ was awake too? Thinking about _him_?

04:22 now. One hundred and twenty seconds more of his life passed by, with absolutely nothing to show for it.

Yeah, if he stayed here much longer, he really _would_ go off the deep end. And if he _had_ to be awake at this ungodly hour, at least he could find a more enjoyable way to pass the time. Whether you were eight or twenty eight, checking in on your little brothers never failed to make you smile.

Tossing back the covers, Scott sat up, wincing at the aching ping across his shoulders. Yes, even with a cute girl to snuggle with, hanging for your life at the end of a steel cable sure had its downsides. Or maybe, just maybe, he shouldn't have whacked that mannequin _quite_ so hard.

Still, he had to be proud of that roundhouse. With or without Kayo's extra training, it had been an absolute beauty, and... Kayo.

 _Kayo_.

Still sitting on the edge of his bed, Scott sighed, his shoulders slumping with even more weight than they had to bear already.

Kayo. Their own head of security. Another trusted ally, that he'd give his life in return to protect. Their surrogate sister, and loved by them all just as deeply. Who they'd known for so much of their lives, but who suddenly felt like a stranger.

This wasn't the first time they'd had to agree to disagree. With two such strong personalities, with... well, yes, with at least one ego to match, such clashes of opinion were inevitable. And yes, so much of what she'd told him made sense. Even if he hadn't agreed with it, he'd still seen her point.

" _We can't always wait for catastrophes to strike_!"

In their differing worlds of security and saving lives - yes, of course, she was right. Whether to stop The Hood, or keeping their father's dream alive - yes, prevention _was_ better than cure. There was too much at stake for his pride to challenge that, and yet... and yet... no, the way she'd defied him still rankled.

Twice he'd given her a direct order. Twice she'd chosen to ignore it. So yes, in this latest clash of egos, she _had_ won. Two times over.

The way she'd shut him out, too. Not just him, but John as well. Yet another 'malfunction' with her comm-link. Every bit as puzzling, and inexplicable, as the other time it had happened.

Too many similarities, between then and now, for it to be mere coincidence. Both times, she'd been face to face with their most dangerous enemy. The maniac who was surely behind their father's disappearance, and who seemed hell bent on destroying their lives too.

The same maniac who'd held Kayo's life at his mercy - and shown her just that. He'd allowed her to live, to - what? To toy with her, _and_ them? To lull them into some sick sense of hope, that they could somehow reason with him? Either to find out why he hated them so deeply, or reach some kind of truce?

And why? _Why_ had he saved her? Was there some kind of personal connection between them? Something from her past that _he_ didn't know about, but The Hood did? Something that he could use against her? Blackmail? Some kind of hold over her, that made her more valuable to him if he kept her alive? Was that why he'd saved her?

More damn questions, that he just couldn't face trying to answer. Instead, he rose to his feet and padded out into the hallway - now _really_ needing the comfort of one of his most cherished big brother routines.

Tonight, though, he didn't just linger in each doorway, but stepped silently through it. Idly marvelled at how Virgil managed to breathe under that cave of blankets. Found the same, fond amusement in picturing how their very own Squid was dreaming his way through his beloved ocean. Knelt at Alan's side, and wondered if his baby brother would _ever_ sleep on his bed, instead of that damn floor.

For each of them, there was the gentlest straightening of tousled hair. The softest of kisses on cheeks and foreheads, before he left them to sleep in peace. As a chorus of snores followed him along the hall, though, his smile turned to a puzzled frown.

The door to Kayo's room was open, which was fine. Nothing odd there. The demands of keeping them all safe made a closed door an unnecessary barrier. No, it was the empty bed inside it that kicked his big brother instincts into 'uh-oh' alert.

Usually, he'd just shrug it off. He'd guess, correctly, that she was down in the gym, honing those vital skills. Tonight, though, after everything that had happened between them, Scott felt an unsettling need to find her. Talk to her. Clear this lingering tension between them.

As expected, the den was deserted - a glance along their portraits only reinforcing this feeling that something wasn't quite right. The kitchen, too, was empty.

Then he saw her, sitting on one of the loungers by the pool. As he continued to watch her, Scott just hoped it was just by normal, natural choice that she'd chosen the one that was furthest from the house. God knew, there'd been enough distance between them already.

Whether or not to join her was another, troubling thought. Oh, she'd been happy enough to laugh with him, while they'd discussed the benefits of keeping Brains busy with the repairs to Shadow, but... no, he'd still seen the tension in her eyes. Felt the change in mood between them that he'd rarely, if ever, felt before. And he really wasn't so naïve as to think it had been down to the chill of a brisk southerly breeze.

That little breeze had strengthened now, enough to make the trees in the garden sway, and ruffle the top of the towel-house.

Winds of change, perhaps, just as Kayo had suggested they needed? Nature's way of reminding him of this troubling rift between them?

So, then - a peace offering to try and heal it. Piping hot coffee for him, and a mug of camomile tea for her. Plus eyes that watched for her reaction as he walked slowly towards her. If he made that approach too fast - well, he'd end up wearing his coffee, instead of drinking it.

To his relief, the smile that greeted him was warm, and unforced. A teasing glance that made him grin too, and return it in kind as he sat down beside her.

"Honestly, Scott... don't you _ever_ sleep?"

"Not since that first night when I had to change John's diaper."

A pause, then, before the rueful punchline that both of them needed.

"Been changing the damn things ever since."

The memory might have made him wince, but - God, it was worth it, just to hear the snort of laughter beside him. Determined to build on it, he settled back on his lounger, and sipped on his coffee - using this silence between them to assess his next move.

He couldn't sense the resentment that he'd dreaded, which was good, but... no, he couldn't get a handle on this at all. Everything about her, from her body language to the way she kept staring up at the stars, just sent out the same message.

She was as confused as he was - trying to find her own answers in the depths of space above her. Even in profile, Scott could see the battle that was being waged on her face.

Surprise. Confusion. Gratitude. Suspicion. Yearning. Resistance. A conflict of emotions that, he knew, were down to just one moment. One person. And neither of them had _anything_ to do with him.

Before he could say anything, though, Kayo stood up. Stared down at him for a moment, as if trying to decide what to do next.

 _'Stay, Kayo... please... stay_.'

Answered by the silent plea in Scott's eyes, she sat back down again. Not on her lounger this time, but his. Close enough for her head to settle onto his shoulder. Close enough for him to slide his arm instinctively around her, and draw her gently into his side.

She still couldn't bring herself to tell him. Still wasn't ready to reveal what was tearing her silently apart. And Scott knew her too well to try and force it out. Damn, he wasn't even sure if he was the one that she _would_ finally confide in. Virgil was a far more likely choice, or John. Or, at a bit of a pinch, maybe Gordon. Or Grandma. The four calmest members of the family, as opposed to its less sensitive hothead.

And did that matter? To his relief, and surprise - no, it didn't. All that mattered to him, right here and right now, was the simple significance of that head resting on his shoulder. The distance between them was gone, while above them, a flawless moon bathed them both in its comforting light.

So, then - here they were. Two troubled souls, sharing a lounger by the pool, and huddled against the chilling breeze around them. Hardly where either of them had expected themselves to be at five in the morning, but... well, all things considered, both of them would still gladly take it.


End file.
